Sponsorship Process

Outline of Process

Identification of the employee who seeks permanent residency sponsorship. This is handled by the employee and the sponsoring department in consultation with the Director of ISSP. It is presumed that employees entering tenure eligible faculty positions will be sponsored for permanent residency.
- The Department of Labor requires that permanent residency sponsorship involving a Labor Certification (PERM) for teaching positions to be submitted within 18 months after the selection date, which is the date of the offer letter. However, pre-filing steps can take many months and thus the permanent residency process must be initiated with ISSP no later than 6 months after the offer letter is issued to meet Department of Labor requirements.
Execution of Permanent Residency Sponsorship and Financial Agreement (pdf)
- Signed by employee and the sponsoring department.
- Documentation of critical expertise (for professional and operational staff).
- Commitment to funding costs of Labor Certification (PERM) and agreement on remaining costs.
- Commitment to undergo steps of reselection/recruitment, including revision of position description if necessary, postings, and review of applicants.
The Director of ISSP will request the Office of University Counsel to secure authorization from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to engage an attorney for the preparation of labor certification and filing of the immigration petition. For non-teaching positions, the preparation for labor certification will also involve guiding the university in recruiting for the position.
Once the OAG has granted authorization, the Director of ISSP will connect the employee to the assigned immigration attorney. For teaching faculty cases, the Director of ISSP will request a copy of documents from the recruitment file from the department.
In cases where reselection/recruitment is required, the revision of the position description, posting of the position, purchase of the advertising, and review of applicants will be handled by the sponsoring department in collaboration with the Director of ISSP. These steps will be guided by the attorney.
- Sponsorship in the EB-1B category does not require this step.
Attorney will secure a prevailing wage determination (PWD) from the Department of Labor. Once the PWD is issued, the attorney will prepare the labor certification (PERM) application.
- Sponsorship in the EB-1B category does not require this step.
Once the Labor Certification (PERM) is granted, the attorney will prepare and file the petition for immigrant worker (I-140).
- Sponsorship in the EB-1B category does not require a filing of the Labor Certification (PERM).
When the I-140 is approved and the employee becomes eligible, the employee will file the I-485 Adjustment of Status to permanent residency. If the employee wishes, they may engage the same attorney to file the I-485. The university is usually not involved in this part of the process.
Once USCIS approves the I-485, the employee is a permanent resident. The employee should update the Director of ISSP when they have received permanent residency.

Positions with and without formal classroom teaching duties

Within the higher education context, the inclusion of formal classroom teaching duties in a position has significant bearing on Labor Certification (PERM) review standard and process. These are outlined below.

Positions without formal classroom teaching duties (Non-teaching positions)

This step is only required for sponsorhips in the EB-2 or EB-3 categories for non-teaching positions.

Recruitment requirements: For positions that do not include formal, classroom teaching duties, W&M must follow specific Department of Labor regulations that govern the posting locations and content of the job ad. This process is carefully coordinated with the attorney handling the case. Recruitment is more localized in its approach, and includes posting in the following locations:

Internal posting at worksite
Posting with the Virginia Employment Commission
2 Sunday newspapers (e.g., Daily Press) or 1 Sunday paper and 1 professional journal
Plus, at least three more of the following:
- Campus placement office
- Local newspaper
- Job fair
- Job website
- W&M jobs website
- Non employer website
- Radio or TV ad
- Private employment firm

Review standard for Labor Certification: For a foreign national to meet the labor certification standard to be eligible for permanent residency sponsorship, W&M must establish that the recruitment yielded no minimally qualified U.S. worker willing and able to take the position.

Positions with formal classroom teaching duties (Teaching positions)

This step is only required for sponsorhips in the EB-2 category for teaching positions.

The standard and process for sponsorship of positions with formal, classroom teaching duties, typically teaching faculty, differs in two key areas from employees without teaching responsibilities.

For purposes of this policy, formal classroom teaching responsibilities are defined as teaching responsibilities formally written into the position description, in which the incumbent is faculty of record for (a) credit-bearing undergraduate or graduate course(s) offered by W&M, and the courses are offered at annually.

Reselection requirements: In conducting the reselection process for teaching positions, W&M may use its own competitive process provided that it includes a job advertisement in a national professional journal. Federal regulations prescribe specific information that must be contained in the advertisement but the ad may be in print form or in electronic form. If it is in electronic form, it must run for at least 30 consecutive days. In the department, an internal notice must also be posted for 10 days.

Review standard for Labor Certification: In the review of applicants, a foreign national who is deemed the best qualified applicant of the pool would meet the labor certification standard for permanent residency sponsorship. The university does not have to establish that there were no minimally qualified U.S. workers available and willing to take the position.

Timeline: The filing of labor certification must occur no later than 18 months from the date of selection in the reselection process. For teaching faculty, that date is the date of the letter of intent from the office of the dean of the school. For other positions involving teaching duties, that date is the date of the letter of offer from the hiring unit.

Questions about permanent residency sponsorship process or policies at William & Mary should be directed to [[ywong, Eva Wong]], Director of International Students, Scholars & Programs.